PTA seeks end to prepaid balance expiry
PTA has proposed allowing prepaid mobile balances to remain valid for as long as a SIM card stays active, aiming to end current expiry-based forfeiture practices.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) issued a consultation paper proposing a sweeping change to how mobile prepaid balances are handled in Pakistan’s telecom market.
Under the plan, unused prepaid credits would not expire as long as a user’s SIM remains active, a move the regulator says is designed to strengthen consumer protection and eliminate unfair loss of user funds.
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The proposal, open for feedback until March 16, 2026, could reshape the market where an estimated 97 percent of subscribers use prepaid services.
PTA’s regulator highlighted that many mobile operators in Pakistan currently expire or confiscate leftover balance after validity periods that can range from 30 days to a full year depending on the recharge plan. Consumers with low remaining balances, occasional users, travellers, or those with secondary SIMs have frequently complained when credits vanish before they are used.
Prepaid balance represents money paid in advance by consumers,” the regulator noted. PTA stated that such funds should remain the subscriber’s own money, not become operator revenue by default just because of expiry rules.
PTA’s review of current practices shows variation among operators. Jazz currently offers unlimited balance validity as long as the SIM remains live, while Telenor temporarily blocks expired balances but restores them once the user recharges. Zong entirely confiscates unused balances after expiry, and Ufone deletes remaining credits after defined validity periods even after notifying subscribers.
PTA argued that the models of Jazz and Telenor demonstrate that more consumer-friendly systems are commercially and technically achievable.
The authority also cited international norms, mentioning how operators in the United Kingdom — such as Vodafone UK — let prepaid credits stay valid for the active life of the SIM and even provide refunds of unused balance for a limited period after disconnection.
Under the proposed framework, balances would remain valid for the entire active life of the SIM and would be tied to the subscriber’s Computerized National Identity Card (CNIC). If a SIM is deactivated and no other SIM on the same network exists under that CNIC, the remaining credit could either be restored when a new SIM is issued on the same network or refunded to the user via bank transfer or mobile wallet after CNIC verification and standard Know-Your-Customer (KYC) checks.
PTA has invited comments on the proposal from cellular operators, individual subscribers, and the public before finalising any new rule. Comments are to be submitted to the Director (Commercial Affairs) at PTA Headquarters in Islamabad.
If enacted, this change would represent one of the most significant consumer protection reforms in recent years in Pakistan’s telecom sector, potentially eliminating the longstanding issue of prepaid balance forfeiture that has frustrated many users.